History of May Day

MAY DAY

May Day is many things to many people. Etymologically, it is a homophone for the international call for help. It is a corruption of the French imperative "M'aidez" meaning "Help me!" As a holiday it is claimed by many. It is known in the pagan world as Beltane, a fertility celebration, one of the four high holidays in the pagan calendar, Samhain on October 31 is another. Beltane is the day of fire commemorating Bel or Belenos, the Celtic sun god. Indeed, in the modern Irish language, Bealtaine is the name for the month of May. The early Anglo-Saxons began their celebration on the eve before, feasting the end of winter and the first planting. It was a time of revelry and abandon -- note the song from the musical Camelot "It's May, it's May, the lusty month of May" -- with the selection of a May Queen and the ribbons of the Maypole. But this day's celebration of the revival of vegetation goes back to the Roman practice of visiting the grotto of Egena. The people of ancient Rome honored Flora, the goddess of flowers and springtime.

In 1886 it was co-opted as an international workers day to celebrate the 8-hour workday movement, following national strikes in the US and Canada. Later, the French declared May 1 the International Working Men's Association holiday in 1889. Some countries consider May Day a bank holiday. This "Labor Day" is on one of the non-holy days in the calendar.

Occasionally, May 1st also marks the National Day of Prayer in the U.S. This day of non-sectarian prayer is observed on different days usually around the beginning of May, but goes back to 1775 when the first day of prayer was declared when the Continental Congress "designated a time for prayer in forming a new nation." President Lincoln's proclaimed a day of "humiliation, fasting, and prayer" in 1863. In 1952, a joint resolution by Congress, signed by President Truman, declared an annual, national day of prayer. In 1988, the law was amended and signed by President Reagan, permanently setting the day as the first Thursday of every May.

A pagan festival, a labor day, or a day of prayer. May Day is many things to many people.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

History of Earth Day

EARTH DAY

April 22 is called Earth Day because it both commemorates and celebrates the anniversary of our discovery of Earth. At this time, by all accounts, there is general agreement that it is far superior to the place from which we came, as we shall see below.

Recently, however, there has been increased concern regarding our displacement of the original aboriginal inhabitants, as is often the case with more "enlightened" conquerors, as we like to think of ourselves.

The indigenous population, a kind of Eukaryota or more specifically Archaeplastida, is known in the vernacular as plants. You cannot have missed the increased coverage in the media on all things "green." Of course, the Irish were the first to capitalize on this, but now everyone seems to have jumped on the bandwagon, with everything from green cars to green computing.

Increased recognition of this under represented earlier population of our planet, sometimes persecuted almost to the point of extinction -- when was the last time you saw a chocolate bush -- has brought greater attention to rampant plantocide: witness for example that in Kansas whole fields of wheat continue to be slaughtered.

Hence, this year there is special attention paid to underprivileged plants, with the motto "Take A Plant To Lunch...But Don't Eat It ." Instead, responsible Earth people might consider an alternative. One could chose instead animals, which already have the good sense to be made of meat. And they are higher in protein, like chocolate, one of the other four food groups.

So, in celebration, let's respect our plant brethren. They're often at least as intelligent as some people you know: have you ever noticed how a sunflower tracks the movement of the sun? Think about it. They're also quiet and, while generally not good conversationalists, are better behaved than many human children.

(Of course, this is with the exception of fungi, the so-called "trailer trash" of the plant kingdom, which have been disowned for phylogenic reasons, not to mention their being "photosynthetically challenged." Some of these heterotrophs have, through remedial education, found a home in breweries)

Nevertheless, plants, as you'll recall, are one of the reasons we came to Earth. Some of the other reasons include:

• Location: it's right here. Look just below your feet.
  
  
• Memorable: it's shaped like the new Cingular logo (A.K.A. the new AT&T)
  
  
• Almost entirely spherical: which makes it convenient for those "round the world" trips and has a much more pleasing shape than where we came from. Did you ever wonder why we called the previous generation "squares"?
  
  
• Great restaurants: and great atmosphere, unlike, for example the Moon which has great restaurants but no atmosphere.
  
  
• Oxygen-Nitrogen atmosphere: so crucial for those of us who breathe, and better than methane in so many ways.
  
  
• Gravity: which is set at a convenient one "g" is quite handy for keeping everything in its place.
  
  
• Neighbors: generally far enough away that they don't bother us much, and those who do are generally more intelligent than average, needing to understand things like calculus, tachyons, and three-phase cyclotronic nuclear-fissionable uranium isotope molecular reconstructors for trans-dimensional physics.

I don't know about you, but I'm planning on spending the rest of my life right here on Earth.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

History of Amazing Grace, part 2

AMAZING GRACE, part 2

As we mentioned in our first article on the History of Amazing Grace this is the story of the lives of two men and that one song. In the first part we discussed the life of the song's author John Newton. The recent film "Amazing Grace" however is about the life of one of Newton's protégés, William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was a man well known to the Framing Fathers of the American Revolution and became in his day not just a politician, philanthropist and abolitionist, but also a writer of such popularity (in his own day) as C.S. Lewis was in the 20th century.

William Wilberforce was born to privilege and wealth in 18th century England and though physically challenged, worked for nearly 20 years to push through Parliament a bill for the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire 200 years ago.

Born in 1759 in Hull in Yorkshire, upon his father's death in 1768 he was sent to live with an aunt and uncle in Wimbledon. While there, he came into contact with the great evangelist George Whitefield. He was also influenced by the former slave-trading sea captain, pastor John Newton. However, his mother and grandfather wanted him away from Newton's influence, which they thought was too evangelical and "Methodist", much too enthusiastic for respectable Anglicans, and returned him to Hull.

Following private school Wilberforce took both his B.A. and M.A. at St. John's College in Cambridge -- where he began a lasting friendship with the future Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger -- but Wilberforce was not a serious student and he was given to late nights of drinking, gambling, and card playing. At the youngest age at which one could be elected, at 21 he was elected to Parliament. He was noted for his charm and eloquence, indeed, his phenomenal rhetorical skill caused the young Prime Minister William Pitt to later challenge Wilberforce with a considerable undertaking -- abolition.

The abolitionist Thomas Clarkson influenced Wilberforce to become an activist in the issue of slavery and together they proposed to Parliament a dozen resolutions against the slave trade. Wilberforce's early optimism was met with one defeat after another. This did not dissuade him from the cause against slavery, or other issues for that matter.

Where did his motivation come from? At the age of 25 he heard very clearly the Gospel of Christ and converted in a way that changed his life. Within two years he determined to serve God by serving the lowest and most ill-treated. But what of his blossoming career in Parliamentary politics? At this point, he decided to visit his old preacher, John Newton, who was now an influential Anglican clergyman installed as rector of St Mary Woolnoth in London. Wilberforce considered retiring from public life in order to engage fully in the spiritual life.

Newton helped them understand that an awakened faith did not necessitate flight from society. He told him that just as Esther had been put in the palace of King Xerxes "for such a time as this," Newton went on to say,

"…One may not be able to calculate all of the advantages that may result from your service in public life. The example, and even the presence of a consistent character, may have a powerful, though unobserved, effect upon others. You are in a place where many know Him not, and can show them the genuine fruits of the religion you are known to profess."

At the age of 28 Wilberforce wrote in his diary: "God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners [morals]."

Though he continued to be plagued by poor health that kept him bedridden at times for weeks, he attended to his causes. All his life he suffered chronic ill health that included a crooked spine, poor eyesight and stomach problems. He wrote:

"So enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable did the [slave] trade's wickedness appear that my own mind was completely made up for abolition. Let the consequences be what they would: I from this time determined that I would never rest until I had effected its abolition."

When in 1797 he settled in Clapham, he became a member of the so-called "Clapham Sect," a group of devout Christians dedicated to correcting social ills. Wilberforce was himself dedicated to and help found numerous parachurch groups like the Society for Bettering the Cause of the Poor, the Church Missionary Society, the British and Foreign Bible Society, the Antislavery Society, and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He championed the cause of chimney sweeps, single mothers, Sunday schools, orphans, and juvenile delinquents. In total, he supported 69 philanthropic causes, giving one forth of his annual income to the poor.

In the same year Wilberforce completed writing his book "A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians in the Higher and Middle Classes of This Country Contrasted With Real Christianity" which he'd been working on for some 4 years. He spoke against the decline of morality in the nation but more than anything his own personal testimony and views. His book became a best seller and a strong and influential apologetic for a vital and living Christianity. The book sold widely for over forty years.

Though his bill in Parliament called for the abolition of the slave trade, slavery itself continued, although he always hoped for emancipation of the slaves. As old age set in, he lacked the vigor to work to its accomplishment, though he continued to attack it through speeches in public meetings and the House of Commons. Finally, 46 years after he began his fight in Parliament, the Emancipation Bill gathered sufficient support and had its final commons reading on July 26, 1833. He died three days later and was buried in the north transept of Westminster Abbey next to his friend William Pitt, Prime Minister.


Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

History of the Players

SO WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO OLD...

You may be asking yourself, "Self," you ask, "where are they now?" and well you might ask. What happened to our players AFTER the events in the Easter story?


HEROD ANTIPAS

You may remember that I had said Antipas' taking to wife his brother's wife Herodias led to his ruin. Actually it led to his death. Her ambition pushed him where he would not have otherwise gone. Antipas' nephew, and Herodias' brother, Herod Agrippa (who we meet in the Acts of the Apostles as one of the early persecutors of the new church) had spent and borrowed much money while he was in Palestine. He lived much of his time in Rome and was a close friend of the future emperor Gaius (the infamous Caligula). While riding in a chariot with Caligula, he commented that he could not wait until the then emperor Tiberius was no longer Caesar so that Caligula might have his rightful place. A loyal slave overhearing this relayed it to Tiberius who had Agrippa thrown into prison.

When Caligula finally did become emperor he released his friend and replaced his chain with a gift of one equal in size made of gold. He also made him a king of certain areas of Palestine. When Herodias learned that her undeserving brother had been made a king, she pushed her husband to go to Rome to appeal for the same boon. The tetrarch Antipas was mellowing with age and was unwilling. However, after much prodding from his wife, he began his journey. At the same time that he was appealing before Caligula, the emperor was reading a letter from Agrippa, accusing Antipas of treason against Rome, having entered into alliances with Sejanus, the Parthians (current enemies of Rome), and of gathering a large number of men and arms. When questioned about this army, Antipas admitted to having collected this militia. Caligula promptly confiscated all his property and exiled him for life to Gaul, though allowed Herodias, since she was the sister of his beloved Agrippa, to go free. To her credit, she accompanied her husband into exile, where he died shortly thereafter. He had ruled from 4 B.C. to A.D. 39, longer than any tetrarch in Palestine, except for Agrippa II, son of his enemy, Agrippa.

PONTIUS PILATE

Three years after the affair with Jesus of Nazareth, in A.D. 36, after having served 10 years as military and political prefect of Judea, a revolt started in Samaria. An obscure pseudo-prophet with Messianic ambitions had promised the Samaritans that he would uncover some sacred temple utensils that Moses has supposedly buried on their sacred Mt. Gerizim. The multitude that gathered came armed with weapons and Pilate ordered his troops to block the ascent. It came to a pitched battle. Pilate, having won, executed the leaders of the uprising. The Samaritan Senate complained to Pilate's superior, the proconsul of Syria, who ordered Pilate to return to Rome to answer the charges against him. However, the emperor Tiberius died before Pilate reached Rome. Whether he was tried by the emperor Caligula, we do not know. Nor do we know what ultimately happened to him.

Perhaps he was banished to Gaul. Some medieval legends have his restless corpse, accompanied by squadrons of demons, disrupting localities of France and Switzerland, causing storms, earthquakes, and other havoc. A later tradition I came upon while traveling through Switzerland claims that he was ultimately buried in a mountain lake, still called Pilatus (actually pileatus or "cloud capped"), overlooking Lucerne. Each Good Friday the body is said to reemerge from the waters and wash its hands.


The early church father Tertullian claimed that Pilate "was a Christian in his conscience", and the Greek Orthodox church canonized his wife, while the Ethopian church even recognizes a St. Pilate and St. Procula's Day on June 25. Saint or sinner, Pilate probably spent the rest of his days as a retired government official, a pensioned Roman magistrate emeritus, enjoying a less than sensational fate.

THE SANHEDRIN

The Pharisees had two main schools of thought, those that followed the Rabbi Hillel, who stressed moderation and a certain amount of compromise, and those who followed the stricter Rabbi Shammai, who would allow no cooperation with the foreign overseers. The school of Shammai eventually found expression through the Zealots, who ultimately fomented the rebellion against the Romans in A.D. 66 leading to the complete destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70. It was the school of Hillel that was able to survive and modern Judaism traces its roots back to this school.

The Sadducees did not proselytize as did the Pharisees, and as they only drew their membership from the aristocracy and the high priesthood, their party did not survive the destruction of A.D. 70.

Joseph, called Caiaphas was high priest until A.D. 39, when he was deposed by the imperial legate of Syria, Vitellius, (who had removed Pilate). The emperor Caligula eventually became jealous of Vitellius' success in the East and had him removed from office. It was only through much groveling and servility before the emperor that his life was spared. Pilate would have been pleased.

THE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS

Two historical facts remain; the tomb was empty, and the lives of the disciples were changed. It should be added immediately that an empty tomb does not prove a resurrection, although a resurrection would require an empty tomb. Its occupancy, indeed, would effectively disprove it. Nevertheless, the disciples claimed that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to many. As they spread the good news (Greek: euaggelion "good report", to the Latin evangelion, to the English "evangelical") this brought them into conflict with the Sanhedrin who were amazed that these unlearned men had filled Jerusalem with their teaching. The faith spread to all points and in Antioch they were first called "Christians". This comes from the Latin christiani, like the word caesariani meaning slaves or members of the household of Caesar.

The faith eventually arrived in Rome and first came into disfavor under the emperor Nero. A number of persecutions under various later emperors as well did not destroy this faith but seemed to refine and purify it as its martyrs became witnesses of this changed life (for the word martyr in Greek means witness). In the early part of the 4th century the Roman emperor Constantine, before a battle was impressed to fight under the sign of Christ, and was victorious. Later, he made Christianity a legal religion. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com


In part from Paul L. Maier's In the Fullness of Time

History of Good Friday

GOOD FRIDAY

For centuries, pilgrims have walked the Via Dolorosa, "the way of sorrow" in Jerusalem, following the path Jesus took from the judgment seat of Pilate at the Antonia in the eastern part of the city immediately north of the Temple through several "stations of the Cross" to the ultimate location at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of the crucifixion and burial. Several years ago, I myself explored this road, though while historically anachronistic -- some of these roads did not exist during the time of Christ -- nevertheless left one with a profound sense of historical gravitas.

Following Pilate's sentence, Jesus was led away to be crucified. Crucifixion was a form of torture and execution practiced by many of the ancient societies, including Persia, Carthage, India, Scythia, Assyria, and Germanic tribes. The Phoenicians were probably the first to use a transverse cross beam rather than just an upright stake in the ground. From the Phoenicians the Romans adopted this practice as the primary means of execution of rebellious slaves and provincials who were not Roman citizens. (Incidentally, this is why Jesus could be executed by crucifixion, but the Apostle Paul, a Roman citizen, could not, and was beheaded.) During the Jewish revolt in A.D. 66 for example, the Romans crucified 3,600 Jews, many of them of the aristocracy.

The victim was first scourged with a flagellum to weaken him before he was hung on the cross. Near the top of the cross was affixed the titulus or inscription identifying the criminal and the cause of his execution. Above Jesus' cross in Greek, Hebrew (Aramaic), and Latin were printed the words "Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews". The Latin acronym INRI comes from this; "Iesus Nazarethis Rex Iudaeorum".

By the way, Jesus' middle name was not "H", as in "Jesus H. Christ". Rather it comes from a misunderstanding of the letters "IHS". This is an abbreviation of Jesus in Greek, "IHSOUS" (iesous), and should properly be written with a line above the 'h' signifying an abbreviation.

Death by crucifixion was painful and protracted. It seldom occurred before thirty-six hours, sometimes took as long as nine days, and resulted from hunger and traumatic exposure. If it was decided to hasten the death of the victim, his legs were smashed with a heavy club or hammer. However, Jesus died within just a few hours. The New Testament, rather than dwelling on this painful death, simply recounts that "they crucified him".

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

In part from Paul L. Maier's In the Fullness of Time

History of the Trial

THE TRIAL OF JESUS

The trial of Jesus leading up to his crucifixion was actually a series of perhaps half a dozen trials, across several locations in Jerusalem, some of which are captured in the tradition of the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Sorrow, a series of locations that pilgrims take through the streets of modern Jerusalem commemorating the last hours before Jesus arrival at Golgotha.

HOUSE OF ANNAS

Jesus was brought before the powerful ex-high priest for a hearing prior to formal arraignment before the son-in-law Caiaphas. Jesus knowing this to be essentially a lower court inquiry blunted Annas' questions by answering that what was known about him was "...public record".

PALACE OF CAIAPHAS

As it was after dark and the gates of the Temple were locked, certain members of the Sanhedrin met in the south west quarter of the city at the palace of the high priest Caiaphas, whose name means "inquisitor". It was difficult to find a solid charge to stick on Jesus as the witnesses that were found could not agree, and according to Jewish Law, a minimum of two witnesses had to concur on a charge. A number of charges and questions were put to Jesus, but he refused to answer. Since no proven evidence had been introduced, Jesus was not legally obligated to answer, and Caiaphas knew it. If Caiaphas could not introduce a proven charge the case would collapse and Jesus would be more popular with the people while the Sanhedrin would be embarrassed. The high priest devised a plan that would create seventy witnesses. He prefaced his final question with the dreaded "Oath of the Covenant". A reply of silence would be criminal, a false answer would be damnable. He said, "I adjure you, by the living God, that you tell us whether are you the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus not only answered affirmatively, but added that he was the Son of Man, an Old Testament title for God's vice-regent on earth, a peer as it were, a divine being.

The high priest, hearing what he believed was blasphemy in his presence, tore his garments. He asked the assembled members of the Sanhedrin, seated in a semicircle around him, for their vote. The vote proceeded from the youngest to the oldest, so the elders might not unduly influence the younger members. The Temple police then beat the prisoner, which was standard operating procedure for the condemned. One problem remained; night trials by the Sanhedrin were illegal except in monetary cases. Therefore, the full council met again the next day, shortly after dawn for a roll call vote. A final complication arose. To avoid hasty convictions, the Jewish law postponed sentencing until the day following the trial. But this was illegal as the next day was the Sabbath, when only acquittals could be returned. However, in this emergency situation, this could be disregarded.

The Jerusalem Talmud tells us that forty years before the destruction of the Temple (A.D. 70) the right to inflict the death penalty had been taken from Israel. As it was now Friday, April 3, 33 A.D., the Sanhedrin had to have the judgment ratified by the Roman provincial ruler, Pontius Pilate, who reserved the jus gladii, the law of the sword.

PILATE'S PRAETORIUM

The Roman prefect's usual residence was in the Roman capital, Caeserea, on the coast. As it was the time of the Jewish Passover, and the numbers of people in Jerusalem grew, Pilate journeyed to the Jewish capital to keep an eye on things. In front of the governor's Jerusalem residence, Herod's Palace, the members of the Sanhedrin gathered. As it was the beginning of the Jewish holiday, they remained outside the Gentile residence so as not to defile themselves. Pilate asked, "What charges do you bring against this man?" If the Sanhedrin were expecting the governor to rubber-stamp their judgment, they were disappointed, for this was the interragatio, the opening formula of a Roman trial. Pilate began to try Jesus himself. Since the Jews could not tell the governor that Jesus was guilty of blasphemy, a religious charge that would make no difference to a Roman, they produced three charges: subverting the nation, forbidding tribute money to Tiberius Caesar, and claims of Messiah.

The first charge was serious, but needed proof, and Jesus had seemed to avoid politics. The second Pilate knew to be a lie, as the Pharisees themselves protested the tax. The third was the gravest. It was maiestas, high treason, the most heinous in Roman law (see earlier historical note on Pontius Pilate). After questioning the accused, Pilate could not get to the truth of the matter, and as it was now after dawn the crowds outside who were aware of the proceedings were getting noisy and ugly. Pilate heard someone mention something about Jesus being from Galilee. This would be to Pilate's advantage, for Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee was in town and Pilate could easily and legally transfer the venue from the forum delicti, the place of offense, to the forum domicilii, the place of residence.

HEROD ANTIPAS' HASMONEAN PALACE

The Sanhedrin could expect a more favorable decision from Antipas since he had aided them before in affair of the votive shields. And Antipas was genuinely pleased to see Jesus, about whom he had heard much. However, Jesus would provide him with no sport. Although he appreciated that Pilate would do him this boon, he could not suffer the unpopularity of putting to death another prophet after killing John the Baptist. So after allowing his troops to give Jesus a gorgeous robe and then mock him, he sent the accused back to Pilate. The gospel writers tell us that after this Antipas showed his gratefulness to Pilate in friendship.

PILATE AGAIN

At this point, the gospel of St. John tells us, Pilate took the initiative and suggested flogging Jesus as an object lesson and releasing him. This practice of fustigatio was to serve as a warning against further wrong doing. This did not satisfy the Sanhedrin, who were beginning to see Pilate equivocate and suspected an actual release. It was at this point that they pulled out their trump card, the ace up the sleeve. "If you release this man you are no friend of Caesar, everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar." This was the key that would link the religious and the political. Pilate's status as amici Caesaris was in danger. His political career would be over, if not his life as well. He had already been warned once by the emperor himself. Pilate then passed sentence against this "king of the Jews": constructive treason - implied maiestas.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

from Paul L. Maier's In the Fullness of Time

History of Maundy Thursday

MAUNDY THURSDAY

Amid the bustle of Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter, Maundy Thursday is easy to overlook. Few calendars label it, and some churches don't observe it at all, though it may be the oldest of the Holy Week observances. It's worth asking why, and how, generations of Christians have revered this day.

The Middle English word "Maundy" comes from the Latin mandatum, meaning "command." The reference is John 13:34: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Jesus spoke those words at the Last Supper, which took place the Thursday before Easter.

Later tradition, however, suggests the term comes either from the Saxon word mand, which afterwards became maund, a name for a basket, and subsequently for any gift or offering contained in the basket... or from the French word maund, from Old French mendier, which in turn comes from Latin mendicare, meaning "to beg." In both of these cases they converge in the English tradition, dating back to King John in 1210, of the crown giving gifts to the poor on this date in a container called a "maund" or "maundy purse."

In the Roman Catholic tradition, Maundy Thursday Evening marks the beginning of Easter Triduum. A triduum is a space of three days usually accompanying a church festival or holy days that are devoted to special prayer and observance. Maundy Thursday is followed by Good Friday, Holy Saturday and concludes with evening prayers on Easter Sunday.

Protestant churches that do observe Maundy Thursday may offer a dramatic re-enactment of the Last Supper or another special Communion service. Foot-washing services and adapted Passover Seders are also fairly popular, especially in Anglican, Lutheran, and other liturgical Protestant churches. Not surprisingly, Protestants generally stick close to Biblical texts when constructing a special service. Catholic and Orthodox traditions add a few other elements to the observance.

During medieval times, Maundy Thursday was sometimes called Shere Thursday, shere meaning "pure" or "guilt-free." ("Shere" also had something to do with shearing, as it was customary for medieval men to cut their hair and beards on this day.) Medieval Christians believed they could achieve purity by performing penance throughout Lent. The Catholic church recognized the achievement by formally reconciling penitents and, in some areas, giving them a green branch. New converts who had prepared their hearts, and memorized their creed, during Lent were taken through baptism at the Thursday service.

Because of the Maundy Thursday connection with baptism, it has long been a Catholic custom to consecrate the year's supply of holy oils for baptism, anointing the sick, and Confirmation on this day. Orthodox clergy take time during the liturgy to prepare the "Amnos," the Communion elements that will be given to the sick throughout the year.

A few European countries have added cultural observances to the list of church traditions. In England, the monarch distributes small purses of Maundy Money to elderly residents of the town selected for each year's service. The practice dates back to 1210, when King John gave garments, knives, food, and other gifts to poor men on Maundy Thursday in accordance with Christ's mandate to love others. Germans, who call the day Gründonnerstag ("Green Thursday"), eat green vegetables, especially spinach. The association with green may come from the gift of green branches to penitents or from a confusion of the old German words meaning "green" (grun) and "to weep" (greinen), connected to the English word "to groan."

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

History of Passover

PASSOVER

This evening at sunset marks the beginning of Passover. Exodus 12 in the Bible tells the story of Passover from the life of Moses. Ten plagues were visited upon the Egyptian pharaoh (starring Yul Brenner, but he was much better in "The King and I") to get his attention to release the "children of Israel" from bondage. The final plague was the death of the first-born son. The Jews were to smear the blood of a lamb upon their door posts, so that the angel of death would "Passover" them unharmed. Pharaoh relented and released the Israelites.

In making their hasty exit, the Jews did not have time to let their bread rise, so in commemoration, they celebrate the Passover Seder ("order") meal with unleavened bread (motzo), bitter herbs, and roast lamb to be eaten in traveling garb. This Feast of Unleavened Bread is a major holiday in the Jewish when Jews from all over the world return to Jerusalem. During Passion Week, which was at Passover, the Jerusalem of Jesus' time would have tripled from its population of about 50,000.

Could "The Last Supper" (made famous by da Vinci's painting) that Jesus had with his disciples in the Upper Room have been a Passover meal? It seems likely. It was at about the right time in the calendar. Some churches commemorate this meal by using unleavened bread for their Communion Eucharist.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

History of the Sanhedrin

SANHEDRIN

The Greek word sunedrion, translated "council" is referred to in the New Testament as "the Great Law-Court", "the Court of Seventy-One", and "the rulers and elders and scribes". It was the supreme theocratic court of the Jews and reflected the local autonomy which the Greek and Roman powers granted the Jewish nation. Its origin can be traced back as far as 200 B.C. The council had 70 members plus the ruling high priest. Three professional groups composed the council: high priests (the acting high priest and former high priests) and members of the chief-priestly families; elders (tribal and family heads of the people and the priesthood); and scribes (legal professionals). At the time of Jesus two religio-political parties within Judaism were represented in this membership: the Sadducees of the majority and the Pharisees of the minority. Caiaphas the high priest was a Sadducee. Most of the scribes were Pharisees. The presiding officer of the council was usually the high priest.

The council was connected with the minor courts, being the highest court of appeal from these. The Sanhedrin's authority was broad and far-reaching, involving legislation, administration, and justice. There was religious, civil, and criminal jurisdiction. However, during the time of Jesus, the council had lost to the Roman governor the power of capital punishment. The council met daily, except on Sabbath and feast days, in a session room adjoining the temple. In extraordinary cases, the council met at the house of the high priest. One of the responsibilities of the Sanhedrin was the identification, and confirmation of the Messiah. The gospel writers identify a delegation from the council going out to question John the Baptist as to whether he was the Messiah. There were about a dozen false Messiahs running around during the first part of this century deceiving the people, and it was the responsibility of the council to identify and denounce them. This is why Jesus had to eventually come into conflict with them.

Although the minority party within the council was the Pharisees, they were the majority party outside the council. During the first century, Philo tells us they numbered six thousand. They were highly respected among the people, operating principally in the synagogues. The typical Jewish boy would have received his religious training from a Pharisee. Their name meant "separated ones" and they kept themselves pure of any corrupting influence, including Greek or Roman influences. They first appeared more than a century before Jesus though by this time had little interest in politics. They had a highly developed system of rabbinic tradition which sought to apply the Biblical Law to a variety of circumstances. They held to three doctrines that the Sadducees did not: the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, and angels and demons. This they had in common with Jesus, and it should be noted that these were devout laymen, not priests. Where they conflicted with Jesus was the charge that in their over attention to the tradition of men concerning the minutiae of the Law, they had largely neglected the real intention of the Law. Numbered among the Pharisees were Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, the great teacher Gamaliel, and his student Saul of Tarsus, later known as St. Paul.

The Sadducees seem to have gotten their name from "zaddikim" the righteous ones. They had little in common with the Pharisees except their antagonism toward Jesus. They represented the Jewish aristocracy and the high priesthood. They had made their peace with the political rulers and had attained positions of wealth and influence. Temple administration and ritual was their specific responsibility. Being well educated and wealthy, they held themselves aloof from the masses and were unpopular with them. They were externally religious and were very political, seeing Jesus as a threat to the status quo. Unlike the Pharisees, the Sadducees held only to the written Law, specifically the first five books of Moses, the Torah.

The New Testament calls two men high priest, Annas and Caiaphas. It turns out that Caiaphas was actually the current high priest at this time, though there are a number of reasons why Annas was called high priest. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas and had been high priest from A.D. 6-15, when he had been deposed by the Roman governor, Valerius Gratus, shortly after the governor took office. The governor tried three more high priests within the next three years until he appointed Caiaphas, in A.D. 18, a man he found cooperative. Nevertheless, Annas was the patriarch and real power behind the high priesthood. While the title was used later for Annas as an honorific, the Jews still saw the high priesthood as an office for life, whether the Romans felt that way or not. He was the senior ex-high priest and may have presided over the council at times. This is why Jesus was first brought to him during his trial.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

from Paul L. Maier's In the Fullness of Time